


The Exchange

by Gabriel_the_Trickster



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Hikaharu, I have decided as I continue writing this, M/M, female oc - Freeform, just on their lives, not really focused on relationships though, slight kyoya/tamaki, that my ofc is bisexual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-02-23 04:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2534600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabriel_the_Trickster/pseuds/Gabriel_the_Trickster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruhi enters an exchange program that will send her to the United States to live with a family of lawyers and attend a new academy for a semester of school while Casey takes her place at Ouran. Though the boys are completely distraught to see Haruhi go, her request for them to look after the student who will be living there for a semester is accepted. And that's when the fun begins. Join the Host Club as their newest customer, Casey Talbot, enters and totally reshapes their lives. From the club gaining new musical entertainment, to making fun of each other and sharing laughs, to even moments of sorrow and pain, the boys know that Casey has changed their lives forever. And Casey is forever reminded that life is short, and all good things must come to an end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So before we get really into this I just wanted to say: some of the names are spelled differently than they are in the tags and if that bothers you, I'm really sorry. This is just how I learned to spell them. Anyways, I hope to keep this updated regularly, however between work and class (I'm an English major so you can imagine how much writing I do to begin with) it's going to be difficult. However, because I'm so in love with my OC and the idea for this story, I will try my hardest to keep updating it. Just please understand that I really am very busy and I have a lot of other things I need to work on. Oh, and while I do have relationships tagged, this story really isn't going to focus on the romantic relationships. I mean, they obviously play a part in the story, but it's really just about Casey adjusting to life at Ouran and everyone just living their lives. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of "The Exchange".

 

"But Haru-chan!"

"What do you mean-"

"For an entire semester?"

"Haruhi! I won't allow this!"

The girl stood defenseless in the corner of the back wall of Music Room Number Three as the Host Club swarmed around her demanding for answers. She had her hands up, trying to calm down the main perpetrators, but they weren't giving any signs of relenting. They continued to press her against the wall, still yelling in confusion.

"Uh, Kyoya-senpai! Help, please," she called to the older boy who was casually sitting in his chair, jotting down notes in his infamous black book.

He glanced sideways at her and pushed his glasses up his nose before saying, "And what exactly do you want me to do, Haruhi? They want answers. It's not my fault you waited until the day before you left to tell them about the program."

Haruhi rolled her eyes as Tamaki rounded on Kyoya. "What?! You mean you knew about this and didn't say anything?!"

The Ootori boy simply shrugged his shoulders, closed his book, and turned towards the group. Everyone was staring at him as he said, "Of course I knew, but it wasn't my place to say anything."

"How come you told Kyoya but not me?! I'm your Daddy, I should know these things," Tamaki spun around to yell at Haruhi.

She ignored him however and pushed him out of the way as she stalked over to where Kyoya was sitting. "How could you possibly known about the program? Have you been checking up on me again?"

"Haruhi, stop changing the subject," Hikaru whined.

"Yeah, Kyoya might have known, but he's right: it wasn't his job to tell us. It was yours," Kaoru picked up.

Haruhi sighed.

She'd been putting off telling everyone because she expected this type of reaction and she really just hadn't wanted to deal with it. The guys were always so melodramatic, especially Tamaki and the twins, and she didn't want their attitudes to ruin her excitement for the opportunity she'd been given. She was placed into an exchange student program where she would switch places with a student from America and live with that student's family and go to school where that student went. She didn't know anything about the person she was switching places with, other than their name was Casey, but she knew their father was a partner at an extremely prestigious law firm. Not only would she be attending a top-rate academy, but she would also be staying with one of the best lawyers in America.

"I know I should've told you guys sooner, but I didn't want you guys having this hang over your heads for weeks. I'm sorry."

She looked at all their faces and tried to assess their emotions.

Kyoya seemed indifferent, as always, but he was taking care not to meet her eyes for some reason. Mori was keeping towards the back of the group and staring at her with the same stoic expression he usually wore. His fists were balled at his sides though, which was highly unusual. Honey was crying in earnest, his face buried into Usa-chan's neck and his arms wrapped tightly around the stuffed animal. Tamaki looked like he was somewhere between wanting to rip Haruhi's head off and cry his eyes out; he kept pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. She half expected him to curl up in a corner somewhere like he usually did whenever he was really upset but he didn't. Kaoru looked extremely upset but he wasn't even looking at her, he was watching his brother, who looked absolutely broken. Hikaru's eyes were shinning and threatening tears which he didn't even try to stop.

This was what she had wanted to avoid: all the sudden she felt guilty for wanting to go and that made her mad. It was her decision on whether or not she did it and it didn't affect them, why should she feel guilty?

"Look guys, can't we just enjoy today while it lasts? And I mean, it's not like I'm going to be gone forever, it's just one semester. Plus I have the cell phone the twins gave me, we can text and call each other whenever we want to."

"You're forgetting the time difference," the twins harmonized.

Haruhi inwardly cursed before forcing a smile onto her face and saying, "I don't care what time it is. If I'm not at school or in the law firm, I will answer you guys."

This seemed to brighten everyone slightly and Honey had at least stopped sobbing. They all decided not to open the Host Club that day and just spend time in the room with all of them together. Haruhi could tell the boys were trying to act like it was just another day, but their hearts just weren't in it. She would catch one of them silently staring at her, sometimes with tears in his eyes, before quickly looking away and appropriately laughing or smiling at whatever the others were doing. The atmosphere in the room was somber though they tried their best to make Haruhi's last day with them a fun one. They even specially ordered some "fancy tuna" for dinner and broke into Honey's special supply of premium cakes for dessert with a special imported tea Kyoya picked out.

It was during dessert that Haruhi spoke up and started talking about the program.

"So I'll be trading places with a student from America. They'll be living with my dad and attending Ouran while I live with their family and attend their academy. I don't know much about the student other than their name, but their father is partner to one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, so it's really advantageous for me."

The boys just nodded and picked at their cakes. She inwardly sighed and continued.

"I know I'm already indebted to you guys, hence the reason I'm here, but I have a favor I'd like to ask of you. Would you please look out for Casey? That's the name of the student who will be here in my place. I don't know if they're a boy or a girl, but they're going to be in a completely unfamiliar setting and it always helps to know there are people who will be there for you. And you guys are the closest friends I have, and I wouldn't trust anyone else with this favor. You don't have to, of course, but it would be a great kindness to me and Casey."

She stared at what was left of the sugary treat sitting in front of her, half expecting the boys to start yelling at her again, asking how in the world she thought they would do such a thing after they found out.

But she was surprised when a soft voice spoke up. "Of course we'll do it."

Haruhi's head flew up and she looked in the direction of the voice, surprised to see Hikaru staring at her with such an intense expression.

"Yeah, you're our friend and we'll always do anything you ask of us," Kaoru picked up after a moment.

"Within reason, of course," Kyoya quickly inserted.

The boys all slowly nodded their heads in agreement, but none of them seemed to feel any better. She knew they were going to miss her, and deep down if she were to be completely honest, she was going to miss them a lot too. Those crazy, spoiled, arrogant dorks had dug their way into her heart and she knew there would always be a place for them there. Whether she were five minutes or five thousand miles away, the Host Club held a piece of her and she would carry pieces of them wherever she went.

"So what about the language barrier? Can you even speak English," Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, and what about your scholarship? How does all of that factor into everything," Hikaru added.

Haruhi answered the questions calmly enough, but on the inside she was perking up a bit. They were starting to ask questions about the program, therefore showing their interest. Maybe even a little support?

"Well, regrettably my knowledge of the English language is a bit lacking, but her entire family speaks fluent Japanese and I'll have a translator at school. The scholarship issue was actually pretty simple to work through. All we had to do was get approval from the board members of both academies and since Casey and I are both 'star students' the approvals were easy enough to come by. Do you have any other questions?"

It was silent for a moment, but then a small voice asked, "Are you going to miss us?"

Haruhi turned her attention to Honey, who was staring at her with tears in his big, chocolate brown eyes. It was in moments like these that she completely forgot he was a seventeen year old boy because he looked so small and vulnerable.

She gulped then reached over to take his hand. "Of course I will. You guys may be a serious pain in the neck but it's going to be hard not seeing you every day. I just have to remind myself that this is an amazing opportunity for me, one that I couldn't pass up. But leaving you guys and my dad for a while is the only thing I don't like about this."

At that moment, Tamaki shot up from his chair so fast it fell backwards. Everyone jumped in shock, even Mori's eyes were wide.

With his hands in fists at his sides and his voice shaking he said, "It wasn't fair for you to keep this from us. If we're as close to you as you just said then you should have respected our feelings enough to tell us about it. I'm glad you were able to accept this opportunity, it truly is a wonderful thing for you, but I just wish you would have told us."

With that, he turned around and walked out of the room, not even bothering to excuse himself.

After he left, one by one the other boys quietly said their goodbyes and all walked out of the room until only Kyoya and Haruhi were left sitting at the table. She looked at the usually cool boy and was surprised to find a small amount of concern in his dark eyes. He wasn't looking at her, or really anything in particular. It almost seemed as if he were staring at the air itself, trying to see each individual particle that floated in the space before him.

"Are you alright, Kyoya-senpai?"

In an instant he replaced his "calm, cool, and collected" mask and half smirked at her, tilting his head so that the lights flashed on his glasses.

"Of course. I'm just trying to calculate how much you'll owe us for all the missed time you'll have this semester."

She almost fell out of her chair as she jumped in shock. "What?!"

"You didn't really think this was a good excuse to miss work, did you? We had a deal that you would work for us until you graduated. Now you're missing an entire semester of the Host Club, how do you expect to entertain from half-way around the world in a different time zone?"

"B-but I thought that-"

"Well you thought wrong. When you return we'll work out some sort of payment plan or something, I know you can't pay in cash so I'll have to be creative. Right now I suggest you go home and get some rest because you have a long flight tomorrow."

She sat there still in shock at what he said for a few more moments before sighing and standing to push her chair back under the table. She grabbed her bag from the couch where she'd left it earlier and started for the door, muttering under her breath, "And here I thought you were actually worried about me and the guys for once."

Since her back was to him and she shut the door behind her, she didn't see the look of pain flash across his face or hear him softly whisper, "I never stop," as he took a final sip of tea.

* * *

 

Looking out the window, Casey wished, not for the first time in her life, that clouds were as soft and fluffy as they appeared. She took in the sight of the sun sitting high as its light reflected off the white blanket of condensed water, all swallowed by a seemingly endless blue sky. She was used to the view from an airplane window, but this time it was different. For the first time she felt like a bird, free to fly anywhere she chose with no consequences or people to tell her what was expected of her. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the book in her hand. It wasn't anything special, just a cheap paperback that had been sitting in the airport gift shop, but she thought it would at least last her the plane ride.

The extremely  _long_ plane ride. It had already been three hours and she was halfway through her book but less than halfway through her trip.

But then, Japan was halfway across the world.

She thought back on the farewell scene she'd witnessed just hours ago. Both her parents had been there and had managed to stand by each other for an hour without saying anything. Casey had been impressed. Not in a sarcastic or scornful way, she honestly loved her parents and hated when they fought, which seemed to happen whenever they breathed the same air as of late. It was partly because of them that she was currently sitting in the first class seat on a plane bound for Japan where she would stay for an entire semester of school.

She turned her attention back to her book, not wanting to focus on those negative thoughts. Moving forward and leaving the past behind is how she chose to live her life, not focusing on the things that made her sad. She never wanted to waste her energy worrying about things, she wanted to make the most of the opportunities given to her.

"Excuse me ma'am, may I get you anything?"

Casey glanced up at the kind flight attendant and smiled, closing her book yet again.

"No thank you, but could you tell me how much longer the flight will be?"

"We're making excellent time and should arrive in Tokyo in about five hours."

"Thank you," Casey said, opening her book again and rereading the same sentence she'd been trying to read for the past few minutes.

The flight attendant walked away and Casey finally gave up any pretense at finishing the book. She closed it and tucked it into her carryon bag which was sitting in the seat beside her. Then she turned to look out the window again and let her mind wander. She wondered if Danny Boy was alright back in the luggage area. She wondered if her parents were going to be kind to each other in front of their new houseguest. But mostly she wondered what awaited her when she stepped off the plane.

She closed her eyes and tried to shut off her brain for a few hours but it took some time until she was able to slip into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

 

"And here we are, please take your shoes off here."

Casey walked into the small apartment as Ranka held the door open for her. Danny, her nine-year-old Siberian husky, followed her in on his leash. Taking off her shoes and his leash, she took in her new lodgings and smiled at the coziness of it. It was nothing like the huge, state of the art penthouse her family lived in in Atlanta, but the simplicity of it was warm and inviting and she instantly fell in love with it.

"It's wonderful," Casey exclaimed to Ranka as she helped him carry in her suitcases. She brought five and each was almost bursting with clothes, shoes, make up, and toiletries. Danny was roaming around the apartment, sniffing everything he possibly could.

"Your dog seems as excited as you do," Ranka laughed, walking over to pet the energetic animal.

Casey took another look at her host and still couldn't believe what she saw. When she'd gotten off the airplane and saw the huge sign with her name on it held by what looked to be a beautiful woman, she'd thought the woman was a driver Ranka had paid to take her to his home. Never in her dreams did she picture her male host in a pink skirt with matching jacket and a big floppy hat sitting on top of a long, flowing red mane of hair. She had been thoroughly surprised, but she was a nonjudgmental person and as long as Ranka was nice to her she'd return the favor.

And Ranka was an extraordinarily kind and energetic person.

"Well, come with me, dear, and I'll show you to Haruhi's room. Danny can sleep in there with you as long as you promise to wash the sheets at least once a week. I would hate for Haruhi to come home and start questioning why her bed smelled like dog," Ranka babbled happily as he led Casey down a short hallway and into a small, intimate room that was just big enough for a twin sized bed, a small dresser, and a standing mirror placed by a window.

"Now, I'll get the rest of your bags and let you get settled. Then I'll make some tea and you can tell me about yourself," he said, setting one of her suitcases by the window and rushing out of the room in a whirlwind of pink energy.

Casey smiled to herself, silently thanking her guardian angel for ensuring that her host was such an enjoyable one. She sat on the bed and Danny walked over to her and rested his head on her lap, staring up at her with his unusual eyes; one was ice blue and the other was chocolate brown. His tail was wagging and he looked at her as if asking her if she was alright. She laughed and rubbed his head, bending over to kiss him on the nose.

"You don't need to worry about me, Danny Boy, I'm pretty happy right now."

"Well that's good to hear. Now why don't you and Danny join me in the living room for tea?"

Casey looked up at her host and smiled one of the most charming and genuinely sweet smiles the man had ever seen and answered, "Sure, I'll be right there. I just want to change into something a little more comfortable."

He simply nodded and shut the door behind him, shaking his head and laughing to himself."Such a sweet girl..."

A few minutes later, Casey stepped out of Haruhi's room wearing athletic shorts and a black tank-top with her hair pulled back into a loose pony tail. She took a seat on the floor in front of the small table and accepted the cup of tea Ranka offered. It wasn't the best tasting drink she'd ever had, but she was grateful for the warmth and thoughtfulness that went into it.

"So why did you enter into the program? I know Haruhi did it because she wanted to experience new cultures and when she found out that your family is the one she'd be staying with it just suited her perfectly. She wants to be a lawyer, you see, just like her mother, and she knew about your father's firm so she jumped at the chance. But why did you want to come to Japan?"

Casey set her cup back on the table and smiled softly, "I've always admired Japan and the freedom expressed in its culture. Especially the music, which is extremely important to me. Plus it's just an opportunity to experience something new, and I'm a firm believer in never wasting time because life's too short."

She was careful not to give too many details, she didn't want to burden Ranka with her personal issues. As long as her host was satisfied with her answer, which he seemed to be, then that was the end of that. She didn't need to trouble him with her family problems or her sad feelings, there was no point to it. She just needed to keep her mind off those things and look forward to the exciting next few months, enjoying every second of it she could. Because she knew that, unfortunately, this trip was only temporary and at some point she would have to return home and be stuck there for the rest of her life.

"What are you thinking about?"

Casey jumped and realized she'd been staring down at her tea for the past few seconds and from Ranka's question and expression, she thought she must be frowning. Shaking her head, she laughed and answered, "Nothing really, other than wondering what school will be like tomorrow."

Ranka chuckled. "Oh, I think you'll find it to be _quite_ the experience. Now, your uniform isn't going to arrive until tomorrow between three and four so the school board told me to tell you to just wear normal, appropriate, clothing to school tomorrow and then you'll be able to wear the uniform the rest of your days there."

"Oh, thank you."

"Now, just a bit of advice: I know you're from a high class family yourself and I'm sure you're able to navigate the 'people politics', but just be careful what you say to some of the people there. Ouran Academy has students from some of the most powerful families in Japan and one wrong or misplaced word could mean a world of trouble for you. And I want to make sure you're able to truly enjoy this trip and make friends while you're here."

Casey nodded solemnly. "I understand. Thank you for your advice and your concern, but you needn't worry about me. I've been trained to handle people like them all my life, and I'd like to think I'm a fairly good actress."

They spoke more about each other's interests for a while, but Ranka couldn't stop thinking about that one statement and wondered just exactly who the young woman sitting across from him really was.


	2. Chapter 2

_This is a_ high school!

Casey gasped as she turned the corner and came face to face with the front gate of Ouran Academy. It looked like the campus of one of the older colleges back in the States, reminding her of pictures she'd seen of Harvard or Princeton. There were different buildings and each one seemed enormous and stately, all the architecture seemed reminiscent of the older English buildings in London. There was a huge fountain in the main courtyard and terraces set up in intervals around the campus giving it a very romantic feel and made Casey double check the crest on the gate to reassure herself that this was indeed the high school, the _academy_ , she would be attending for the next semester.

There were no buses, most students showed up in limos, but Haruhi walked so Casey walked. It wasn't that far away and Ranka had written down the directions which were easy enough to follow. She had left earlier than Ranka told her was necessary and arrived at the school a full half hour before she was to meet with the Chairman of the Board who would escort her to class. As such, she decided to explore the buildings.

There were a few students walking around, many of whom were staring at her and probably wondering what she was doing at the school and if she was lost. Since she didn't have her uniform yet, she was forced to wear her normal clothes. She was wearing some form fitting, dark jeans that flared out a little at the bottom, a lacy dark purple short-sleeved shirt with a white tank top underneath, and simple black heels. Nothing too fancy, but her usual "dressed-up casual" style that she was comfortable with. Her long, dark brown hair was well behaved, as always, and fell in small waves down her back, and her bright blue eyes popped even more with the light brown eye shadow she wore and black mascara. Finishing off her look with brown lip gloss and her naturally light tan, Casey knew she stood out but felt confident enough with her appearance and so she ignored the people who pointed at her and laughed. She simply smiled and walked into the nearest building.

A large chandelier hung from the ceiling and a grand staircase with a red carpet stood before her, making her feel like she was now attending the upper class version of Hogwarts.

"If only Draco could see this," she chuckled to herself as she climbed the stairs and walked down a hallway. All the doors were opened and she peered into the rooms, her curiosity getting the better of her. Most were empty save a few students and teachers every now and then, school really didn't start for another forty-five minutes. At the end of the hallway, the last door was closed. Above it was a sign that read "Music Room Number 3".

_Music room?_

She put her ear up to the door to see if anyone was playing inside and when she didn't hear anything she rapped on the door a few times, calling out to ask if someone was inside. She received no answer so gingerly she reached for the doorknob and turned it, opening the door.

The room was absolutely huge, as big as her penthouse in Atlanta she thought, and it was bright because of the number of windows. It smelled faintly of vanilla and rose, and, much to her surprise, it didn't really look like a music room. The only instrument was a white baby grand piano in the far back corner, but other than that the room was furnished with a bunch of fluffy French Victorian styled love seats, coffee tables, and small dining tables. It was a beautiful room, but she was a bit disappointed in the lack of instruments. Surely a school of this size and prestige could afford at least a few more, or were the fine arts not important here at Ouran either?

Nevertheless, Casey closed the door behind her, dropped her shoulder bag which contained a notebook, a portfolio, some pencils, and her laptop onto one of the coffee tables, and strode over to the piano. She sat at the bench and lifted the cover and stared at the ivory and obsidian keys. Playing piano was one of her favorite past times, it always had been, since she was five. At first her parents paid for her to have lessons but once they realized how serious she was taking it and music in general, they stopped. That didn't stop her though, she continued practicing to cultivate her skill and now she was a talented pianist, violinist, and singer.

She lifted her fingers and allowed them to ghost over the keys until she decided what to play. Once she had a song in mind, she began to play softly, allowing the emotions of the sonata to wrap around her as she moved and played with her eyes closed. It was one of her favorites, and of course she had almost all the songs she knew memorized since her parents tried to take all her sheet music from her. They were very much against her being a musician because nothing about music was "practical" enough to them. Thinking about it made her tense up and she hit a wrong note which made her stop her hands completely and stare at the piano in front of her.

_I'm on the other side of the planet right now, I don't need to think about it. Just enjoy it while it lasts, you know better than to waste your energy on worrying about it._

With that in mind, she picked up a few measures before where she messed up and continued playing for the next half hour until a bell rang in the distance, signaling that there was fifteen minutes left until class started. She stood from the bench and closed the piano and was about to sling her bag over her shoulder when two girls rushed in. They were both wearing ridiculous yellow dresses with puffed long-sleeves, pink bows at the collar, an empire waste line, and plane black shoes with white stockings. Casey knew this was the uniform for girls at the Academy and it was pretty much the only down side to attending the school in her opinion. At any rate, she smiled at the girls who were staring at her in confusion. One had straight, shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes and the other had long, light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Who are you?" the one with the black hair asked.

"Hi, I'm Ca-"

"Sorry, we heard the piano in here and thought you were someone else," the one with the brown hair cut Casey off in a huff. "Come on, Hima, it's not him." With that, she grabbed her friend's wrist and practically pulled her out of the room.      

Casey stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to make of the two girls as they rushed out of the room, but then she simply shook her head and walked out. She went back to the main courtyard and walked into the building marked "Administrative" and walked in.

A perky young woman with long black hair sat typing away at a computer at the front desk. She looked up and smiled at Casey as she walked in and said, "Hi, how can I help you?"

"I'm Casey Talbot, I'm supposed to meet with the Chairman of the Board," Casey answered with a smile.

"Oh, you're the new student. Well, if you'll just follow me, I'll take you to his office."

Casey followed her up another grand staircase and down an extremely long hallway that ended with a huge set of French doors with a plaque that read "Chairman's Office" to the side. The secretary opened the doors then stepped inside and said, “Sir, the new student is here for you now.”

“Great, send her in.”

The woman turned to Casey and gestured with her arm. “He’s ready to see you now. If you need anything, please feel free to let me know.”

And then she did something unusual: she bowed. Casey wasn’t really used to people doing that to her and she just took it to be a sign of respect in the culture, but it did make her smile to herself and laugh a little.

“Miss Talbot, if you please.”

She put herself in check and took a quick breath before walking into the room and standing in front of his desk. His huge desk. In fact his entire office was enormous and elegantly furnished much like the rest of the school. There were red velvet couches and dark wood coffee tables and unnecessary plants that somehow made the room seem even more upscale.

Yuzuru Suoh was standing on the other side of his desk with his hands clasped behind him and a charming smile prepared on his handsome face. He appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, and had short light brown hair and brown eyes.

“Hello Miss Talbot, and welcome to Ouran Academy. I’m the Chairman of the Board, Yuzuru Suoh, and if you need anything while you attend the Academy I ask that you simply not hesitate to let me know. Now, why don’t we sit for a moment and chat before I take you on a tour of the campus?”

Casey smiled and sat in one of the red velvet chairs that were in front of his desk while he sat in a leather one on the opposite side.

“Thank you, Mr. Suoh. And please, call me Casey.”

“Of course,” he nodded. “So tell me, why did you enroll in the exchange program?”

She crossed her legs and gave almost the exact same answer she’d given Ranka when he asked her the night before. She tried to make it sound unrehearsed, and she did a very good job of naturally exuding enough charm to make it through, but she didn’t necessarily enjoy dancing around the full truth. She never wanted to sound like she was complaining or to burden other people with her problems, but sometimes she just wanted to tell people that the reason she wanted to go half way around the world was because she wanted to give her parents a break from her.

_Stop thinking about it. You’re here now, just enjoy it and stop thinking about them._

She continued chatting with the Chairman until she heard a bell ring in the distance.

“Ah, that would signal the end of first period. If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you on a tour of the campus. At the end of which, I will escort you to the dining hall where you can eat lunch and then attend your afternoon classes,” he said, standing and walking out from behind his desk.

“Oh, thank you. I didn’t realize I was taking up your whole day.” Casey followed him as he moved to exit the room.

“Do not worry, I made sure to clear my schedule for the day to see that you were well accommodated for. What kind of chairman would I be if I didn’t treat a guest of the Academy with the best hospitality we could offer?”

She laughed as they walked back through the hallway and down the grand staircase.

Over the next few hours, Mr. Suoh walked Casey around the campus of the Academy and told her stories about when he had gone to school there, claiming they were far more interesting than the actual history of the school. He showed her where all of her classes would be and every now and then a bell would ring and the grounds would overflow with students either racing to their next class or loitering to catch up with their friends. Everyone who passed nodded their heads in respect towards the Chairman and then gave curious glances towards Casey to which she simply smiled in return.

“You said you have a son who attends the Academy?” Casey asked at one point as they were walking through the gardens at the back of the school.

“Yes I do, he’s a second year here and ranked second in his class,” Yuzuru answered, smiling to himself.

            “I’m sure he’s wonderful and I hope to meet him one day,” she grinned.

            He chuckled before saying, “I have a feeling your paths will cross eventually.”

            She only smiled and nodded but inwardly wondered what he meant. But the tour went on until about five minutes before mid-day.

            “Alright, Miss Casey, the afternoon meal will begin in a few minutes. The dining hall is right through those doors. You have an account with money already placed in it so you may buy your meals. After the lunch hour is over, please meet me back here and I will escort you to your first afternoon class.”

            With that he turned and walked away. She was slightly bewildered for a moment, staring after him in shock. After being given an extremely thorough tour of the school, being left that fast was a bit of a surprise, but she quickly composed herself when the bell for lunch sounded. She walked into the dining hall and was almost used to the opulence of the building.

            Almost.

            She walked up to what appeared to be a fancy lunch line. Not even the school she attended in Atlanta was this extravagant when it came to meals. They all looked and smelled absolutely mouthwatering. Though she was a bit unsure of what to order. Her Japanese, obviously, was almost flawless however that didn’t bestow upon her the knowledge of what the food was. She simply pointed out the thing that seemed most appetizing, some sort of meat with rice and steamed vegetables, and proceeded to the cash register where she explained who she was. The cashier nodded and turned his attention towards the person behind her, signaling that the entire process was over.

            Smiling in gratitude, she turned her own attention away and stared at the long tables covered with white cloths starting to fill up. Casey naturally was a very outgoing person who knew how to handle the “snooty, upper class” people, but for some reason she was a tad bit nervous about where she was going to sit. Of course it could have been due to the fact that she was literally an outsider to these people and a complete foreigner. Whenever she’d hosted or attended parties back home, she’d been part of the “in-crowd” because that’s where she’d grown up. Here, however, nobody knew anything about her, nor did she think they really cared.

            Finally she spotted a seat at a small empty table and set her tray down before reaching to pull the chair out.

            “Allow me, ma’am,” a voice from behind her said as hands touched the back of her chair and pulled it back for her.

            She jumped as another hand held hers and said, “Please have a seat.”

            Casey turned to see two sets of identical amber eyes staring at her with matched expressions of amused interest. She sat in the chair and watched as both boys moved around and sat on either side of her. They were both extremely cute, with light auburn hair and pale skin, both wearing the standard purple uniform that all boys at the academy wore.

            After giving them both a once over, she smiled and said, “Thank you.”

            “You must be the exchange student-”

            “From America we’ve heard so much about.”

            She sat back and watched both of them as they sat their elbows up on the table and rested their heads in their hands, staring at her with mischievous grins. They finished each other’s sentences with no pause, like they were literally the same person speaking one fluid line. However, the one to her left had a bit of a deeper voice than the one to her right. But she could tell they wanted to play games, and she had no qualms with that.

            “That I am, though you can just call me Casey,” she grinned, reaching for her fork to start eating. “What are your names,” she asked as she took a bite.

            “Well, I’m Kaoru,” the one to her right said.

            “And I’m Hikaru,” followed the one on her left.

            “We’re the Hitachiin twins,” they said at the same time.

            “Well, Hitachiin twins, it’s nice to meet you. Now, why did you decide to sit with me after pulling my chair out and helping me sit in it?”

            They both shrugged and sat back in their seats.

            “We were bored and you’re someone new to mess with,” they both replied.

            “Oh, ‘to mess with’, hmm?” she chuckled. “I’m not sure I’m settled in enough to be messed with by two complete strangers, especially if they’re a set of attractive twins.”

            “So,” Kaoru started, leaning in towards her.

            “You think we’re attractive?” Hikaru finished, also leaning in.

            She laughed, which momentarily stunned the boys, their eyes widening a bit. “Yeah, I think you’re attractive, just like half of all the people in this room who are all staring at you.”

            They both looked at each other, then around the room as if noticing for the first time that most of the other students had their eyes on the trio. As they glanced at each other again, Casey continued eating, deciding that whatever it was, it was better than the cafeteria food at her own academy. She wanted to hurry up, however, so that she wouldn’t keep Mr. Suoh waiting.

            “Hey, Hikaru.”

            “Yeah, Kaoru?”

            “She’s not that interesting,” Kaoru replied, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling.”

            “Yeah, I’m getting kind of bored,” Hikaru agreed, mimicking his brother’s movements.

            Casey simply laughed. “I’m sorry I’m not responding the way you’d like me to, and that I’m therefore boring and uninteresting. If it’s all the same to you, I find you both _quite_ interesting and I’d like to thank you for entertaining me during my first lunch here. However, I’m also sorry to say that I’m finished eating and will therefore take my leave. Although, if I’m so boring, it should come as a relief to you, yes?”

            The boys pretended to ignore her, making quick glances at each other as she gathered her tray and pushed her chair back to stand. She smiled at both of them before turning to leave.

            She had barely taken a step before she felt arms loop through her elbows and a hand taking the tray away from her.

            “A lovely lady such as yourself-”

            “Shouldn’t have to carry her tray to the trash.”

            “Or walk somewhere unescorted,” they finished together. It was still hard to tell which was which, but Casey was beginning to hear the differences in pitch so she was confident that eventually she’d figure out who was who.

            “You two don’t give up do you,” Casey grinned as she rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine, after we throw my tray away, I’m supposed to meet Mr. Suoh outside the building so that he can _escort_ me to my afternoon classes.”

            The three of them walked in the direction of the trash bin and one of the twins (Hikaru, maybe?) sat her tray on top of it. Casey couldn’t stop laughing, looking around the room and seeing people stare at them with mixed facial expressions was too much. Neither of the boys said anything, they just wore matching mischievous grins, which she was starting to believe were their default expressions.

            Once outside, Casey spotted Mr. Suoh and she pointed him out to the boys. “He’s standing right over there, I think I can manage walking there on my own now.”

            “Nah, we’re fine,” the twin on the left shrugged as they all began walking towards the chairman.

            “Besides, we haven’t seen him in a while, we want to say hi,” the other twin added.      

            “Ah, Casey, I see you’ve made some new friends,” Mr. Suoh commented with a smile as the trio reached him. Casey skillfully detangled herself from the twins, much to their surprise, and smiled.

            “Yes, sir, they sat with me at lunch and everything. Though I do believe they said they needed to get to class now because they didn’t want to be late,” she said, smirking at the twins who momentarily seemed stunned. But then they put on perfect masks of respect and charm.

            “Of course, sir, she is right,-”

            “We are at the top of our class and would hate to be late.”

            “Well, it was nice meeting you both. Take care,” Casey smiled as she turned her attention back to the Chairman, waiting for him to dismiss the boys as well. She was enjoying playing their little game. However, Mr. Suoh apparently didn’t know what the game was or how to play it.

            “What class are you two heading to?” he asked them as they started to walk away.

            “Intermediate French,” the both replied.

            Mr. Suoh smiled brightly as he placed a hand on Casey’s shoulder. “Fantastic, that is the class Casey will be attending now. Perhaps, since you all seem to be getting along so well, you two would escort her to that class, and then maybe to the rest of her classes for the day?”

            Casey’s smile froze on her face as the boys looked at her with those same grins that almost seemed a little cocky now.

            “Of course sir.”

            “Anything for you and our new friend.”

            “Wonderful. Well Casey, I trust I leave you in excellent hands. The Hitachiin brothers are some of our top students here, in the same grade level as you, and are well known around the school. They are great company to keep. For now, I bid you farewell, and please remember that if you should need anything or have any questions, my door is always open.”

            With that, Mr. Suoh handed her a piece of paper with her schedule on it, bowed, and then walked away, leaving Casey Talbot at the mercy of the Hitachiin Twins. Not that she considered that a bad thing, they really were attractive and she enjoyed playing their games, but the way they were looking at her, as cats would look at a mouse, was a bit unsettling. Still, she wasn’t about to let these boys think they’d gotten the best of her. So she looped her arms through theirs and started walking.

            “So where are we going,” she asked.

            “That way,” the boys replied, pointing to the building in the opposite direction.

            “Ah, well, maybe it’s best that you two lead then,” Casey laughed as they turned around and continued on in the other direction.

            The boys leaned back and glanced at each other behind her and shared looks of absolute confusion and interest in the girl on their arms.

 

* * *

 

            “I can’t believe you can speak Japanese _and_ French that fluently,” one of the twins commented as the trio left the room and made their way to their next class.

            “Seriously, how many languages do you speak? And _how,_ ” the other picked up.

            Casey laughed, a sound the boys were getting used to. It was a bit contagious, pleasing to the ear, and always seemed so natural to her. She just seemed to be a generally happy person, and not in the annoying, overly perky way. She was kind, funny, charming, and extremely smart. The boys were more than a little surprised when Casey introduced herself in front of the class in flawless French, complete with an authentic accent. They’d begun to theorize that behind the cute, happy nature lied an evil, calculating mastermind who was there to take over the school.

            Or maybe hanging around Kyoya and Honey for so long had messed with their minds. Either way, Casey Talbot was like a breeze of fresh air, complete with a laughter as natural as a babbling brook.

            “I grew up in high society city life, it’s important to know different languages. Especially when your parents are at the forefront of the social scene. Parties, dinners, benefits, people from all over the world come to the events I was dragged to. Not to mention that Atlanta is simply a melting pot of cultures. And I can also speak Spanish fairly well.”

            “Hey Hikaru,” the twin to her right said as the three left that building and started walking across the courtyard to another building.

            “Yeah Kaoru?”

            “I’m thinking we should form a study group with Casey here.”

            “Me too, she’s pretty smart and neither of us are really that good at French anyways. Of course, we really need help in World History so I think we’d need to know how knowledgeable she is in that subject before we form a study group,” Hikaru commented, both of them carrying on the conversation as though the object they were discussing wasn’t walking right between them.

            Once they made it to the second building, Casey stopped walking and looked at both the boys with a questioning smile. “I’m guessing you two are used to people fawning over you and girls absolutely fainting at the idea of ‘studying’ with you, am I right?”

            “Yeah, what about it,” they both shrugged.

            “Look, I’m all for playing your little games; I grew up surrounded by people and I felt bored and lonely so I played games with people too. So I want you to know that I’ll play your games, but I won’t fall for them.”

            With that, she continued walking, her arms still through theirs. Hikaru looked at his brother to give him a “what is she talking about” expression, yet for once Kaoru wasn’t ready to exchange the look. The other Hitachiin was staring at Casey Talbot with a mixture of confusion and intrigue.

            “Hey-” Hikaru started to say but was cut off by Casey.

            “Alright, after World History I have to go to Renaissance Art Appreciation.”

            “Oh, we don’t have that class, but we’ll show you where it is since it’s on the way to our final class,” Kaoru told her as they all entered their history classroom and took seats in the back row.

            “Thanks…alright, I _will_ get the hang of this one day, I know it, but what’s your name again?”

            And there it was. Casey Talbot had gone from intriguing to “just like everyone else” in the eyes of the Hitachiin Twins.

            “Kaoru,” he answered politely, but Hikaru could see disappointment in his brother’s eyes.

            “Thank you, Kaoru. I’m sorry, I’m just really bad at remembering names.”

            “No, it’s fine, we’re used to it.”

            For a moment, Casey stared at him with her mouth open, completely at a loss for what to say. She realized what she had done, unintentionally of course, but she knew that no matter what she said, they were just going to think that she was trying to cover up the fact that she couldn’t tell them apart. She was an only child, so she never had to worry about her identity being mistaken for someone else’s, and she couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for the twins. However, she really was just bad at remembering names when she’s just met someone, though she could tell the boys wouldn’t believe her if she tried explaining that.

            She finally smiled her easy-going smile and said, “I know me saying ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t really going to do anything, but it’s what I say when I’m trying to show sympathy or empathy, so I’m sorry.”

            Kaoru laughed. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, you didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m fine.”

            Casey wanted to say more but was cut off as the teacher strode into the room and class began.

            Hikaru could barely focus on the lesson. Not that he paid much attention in the class anyways, history was all about learning the past and he wanted to focus on what was happening now or what could happen in the future; he didn’t have the patience to worry about what happened hundreds of years ago. However, today his attention was monopolized by the new student, much like the rest of the class. She seemed just as knowledgeable in History as she did in French, but it wasn’t just her intelligence that made her so interesting: it was the way she could charm everyone in the room with that easy smile and bright bubble of laughter that somehow made even Hikaru want to learn about King Henry IIIX.

            Whoever that was.

            It really was amazing to watch though, how she seamlessly and effortlessly fit herself into the world of Ouran Academy and by the end of the class everyone wanted to know more about her. But when the bell rang, she stood and was ready to loop her arms through the Twins’ so that they could all walk to their next classes together. Hikaru made sure to watch his brother to see if he would act any different towards her, prepared to follow suit. But Kaoru remained his joking self and talked animatedly with Casey, so Hikaru echoed his brother’s comments and laughs as usual.

            “This is your stop, Casey,” the boys both said as they stopped in front of the door.

            “Well, thank you to both of you for _escorting_ me to my classes,” Casey laughed as she unhooked her arms from the boys’.

            “Anytime,” Kaoru said as the Twins both bowed playfully.

            “Yeah, and we’ll let you know about that study group,” Hikaru called over his shoulder as they walked away.

            She shook her head and entered the room, stopping to introduce herself to the teacher before taking a seat towards the back.

            The class seemed to fly by, not because she particularly enjoyed Renaissance Art Appreciation, she wasn’t even sure why she needed to take the class, but because it was her last class of the day. Since Ranka had told her he got home from work pretty late, she figured she would hang around after school and get to know the place more. She couldn’t take her mind off that piano in the abandoned music room though, and had decided to play it for a little while once classes were over and she’d walked around the campus once more.

            Before she realized it, the bell rang and everyone gathered their designer bags and started chatting as they left the room, thankful for the school day to be over. Some girls were chatting and giggling as they hurried to form circles in the courtyard, apparently excited about something. Casey paid them no mind, however, she was happy to just walk outside in the sunlight, taking in the sights and sounds that made Ouran Academy. A few people from her previous classes greeted her as they passed and she routinely smiled at them and responded appropriately, but after a few minutes her longing to play outgrew the serenity of sightseeing so she made her way to the abandoned “Music Room Number 3”.  

            Contemplating which piece she would play first, Casey didn’t even stop to think before opening the door to the room.

            Instantly, she was taken aback as roses fell on her and their scent mixed with vanilla was more powerful than it had been that morning, almost gagging her. What was even more shocking was the white light that absolutely blinded her, so much so that she shielded her eyes with her hands and started backing away.

            “Welcome princess.”

            At those words, she stopped walking and slowly took her hands away from her eyes.

            Before her, sitting in those chairs and looking ridiculously posed, were six boys. Well, six extremely handsome boys, were she to be quite honest.

            “Oh, hi Casey.”

            “We didn’t realize you’d be a customer so soon.”

            Hearing the familiar voices, her eyes zeroed in on the Hitachiin twins, standing behind an extremely handsome blonde boy who was sitting in one of the chairs.

            “Um, a customer? Sorry, no, no I’m not here to buy anything,” Casey quickly explained, for once completely at a loss for words. The smell and the light and the cute boys had her momentarily stunned, especially since the blonde boy with gentle, dark blue eyes rose and glided towards her.

            “So you’re Casey, are you? Well my dear, you are most certainly welcome here,” he whispered as he stopped so close to her there was barely room for her to breathe.

            “Yeah, um, I’m sorry, there must be some misunderstanding,” Casey again started to explain, her voice more measured and her ability to gather her thoughts once again restored. She looked the blonde boy straight in the eyes, so dark blue they almost seemed violet, and said, “I didn’t mean to disturb you, please forgive me and allow me to excuse myself.”

            She turned to leave, but the Twins’ voices stopped her.

            “But why are you here then?”

            Casey turned and looked passed the blonde boy, who seemed to be in a state of shock at her blatant rejection of him and started to respond to the Twins, to tell them why she was there, but her eyes caught another person’s and she stopped. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and, for the second time in the space of less than five minutes, she was stunned.

            “K-Kyoya?”

            “Ah,” the Ootori boy murmured as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “It all makes sense now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's chapter two! Oh, how do Kyoya and Casey know each other? Guess you'll have to wait for the update to find out! Like I said in the notes in the previous chapter, I don't know how often I'll be able to update this story because these last two chapters were already written and I just had to edit them. But I will definitely try my hardest to update this asap.


	3. Chapter 3

“What,” every other boy in the room exclaimed as all eyes fell on the two.

            Casey froze for a moment and then ran up to Kyoya and wrapped her arms around him in a move so fast no one had time to react. Of course after the fact they did.

            “Casey, what are you doing?!” Kaoru shouted.

            “Oh no, she’s done for!” Hikaru yelled, putting his hands to his face.

            “Casey-chan hugged Kyo-chan,” Honey added, pointing at the two while Mori simply looked on with wide eyes and responded, “Yeah.”

            However, the girl ignored all the comments and quickly pulled away from the taller boy. She smiled brilliantly up at him and he wore a delighted smile as he said over all the other voices, “It’s wonderful to see you again, Miss Talbot.”

            She laughed. “Oh please, you know how I feel about the formalities.”

            “Still, it is customary to refer to someone as such, and you know how _I_ feel about the formalities.”

            “Of course, Kyoya, you haven’t changed at all,” Casey continued as the other boys formed a circle around them.

            “Alright, would you mind-”

            “Explaining what is going on-”

            “And how you both know each other,” the Twins chimed together.

            “Absolutely,” Kyoya answered, pushing his glasses up and gesturing to Casey. “This is Casey Talbot, daughter of James and Emma Talbot of Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. Her father and his brother, Tyler, are partners at one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the country, while her mother is a world renowned neurosurgeon. Being that my family is prominent in the medical field, we’ve often attended conventions and benefits that Emma Talbot has been featured at, leading Casey and I to have known each other for some years now. Also, my family hired her father to handle one of our overseas cases, which he won it for us.”

            “Wow Kyoya, write my biography, why don’t ya,” Casey teased, playfully pushing him.

            He didn’t seem particularly bothered by her actions, though the boys knew that since his family had “dealings” with hers he was probably just putting on an act so as to not offend her and in extension her family.

            “So Casey-chan and Kyo-chan are friends,” Honey asked quizzically.

            Casey laughed and shook her head. “In all honesty, Kyoya and I are only used to polite party chat, we’re not really that close. But it was such a surprise to see him here, to see someone that I actually knew, that I got a bit excited.”

            “No worries, it’s a pleasure to see you again and I’d be happy to answer any questions you have during your stay,” Kyoya said, smiling politely. He looked at his watch and his eyes widened a bit. “Ah, the customers will be here momentarily, gentlemen.”

            “Customers?”

            “Yeah,” Kaoru answered her as they all moved back into their positions.

            “Isn’t that why you’re here?” Hikaru added.

            “Well, no, I-”

            But she was cut off by the opening of the door and the boys again saying, “Welcome, Princess,” while the lights became momentarily so intense she closed her eyes. When she opened them, the room was filling with a bunch of girls and the six boys moved away from their poses and to sit at tables and on other couches. Kyoya went into a separate room and started bringing out different teas for the tables that were already covered with dainty cakes and finger sandwiches that somehow had escaped Casey’s notice when she first entered.

            “Come, my dear, you may sit by me.”

            She jumped at the sudden, soft voice in her ear. Turning, her eyes were caught by a sea of blue and she recognized the dramatic blonde boy who’d sulked when she was unfazed by his advances. He sat in one of the chairs and across from him were three girls sitting in an identical loveseat and all three of them gazed at him in absolute adoration. Casey quickly noted that two of the girls were the two who had rushed into the music room just this morning. They had said they’d mistaken Casey for someone else since she’d been playing the piano…

            She smiled politely and nodded her head, sitting a respectful distance away from the blonde, not quite sure what to make of him. He smiled gently and offered her a cup of tea that had been sitting on the table.

            “So tell me about yourself, darling, you must have some amazing stories from America,” the blonde commented, resting his arm on the back of the chair after she accepted the cup.

            “Only if you tell me your name, I’ve been here almost a whole ten minutes and you’ve neglected to enlighten me as to whose presence I sit in,” Casey smirked, taking a small sip of tea.

            “You mean you don’t even know Tamaki’s name,” one of the girls, Hima, if Casey remembered correctly, teased while the other girls snickered.

            “Well now I do, thank you.”

            The three girls sat there in stunned silence as Casey turned her attention back to Tamaki, who continued smiling at her. “So, Tamaki, what would you like to know?”

            “Something, anything, everything, whatever ounce of information your little heart wishes to bestow upon me,” he answered dramatically, leaning closer to her and lifting her chin with his finger.

            “Well, Tamaki, if you really must know,” she began coyly, dropping her gaze for a moment then meeting his, “I would absolutely love it if you would just be yourself with me and it would gladden me even more if you would remove your fingers from my face.”

            The three girls gasped, a bit melodramatically in all honesty, yet their reactions were considerably tamer than Tamaki’s. He froze for a moment and Casey swore she could see his entire body turning absolutely white. She pulled herself out of his reach and his arm still stayed frozen where it was. She reached out and poked his shoulder but he didn’t budge.

            “Look what you’ve done!”

            “You’ve broken him!”

            “Way to go, new girl!”

            Casey looked at the three girls who were all red faced and shaking with anger.

            _What is wrong with these people? The one-percent don’t act like this back home._

“Uh oh, boss are you ok?”

            “Not again, this is the third time this month.”

            She turned to see the Twins standing behind the couch looking at Tamaki with a mixture of boredom and annoyance playing on their faces. She also noticed that almost everyone had stopped to stare at the boy who was still comically frozen.

            “Is this a normal thing, or…?”

            “Yeah pretty much.”

            “He can be a bit over the top every now and then.”

            “Usually saying something nice to boost his ego snaps him out of it,” Kyoya broke into the conversation.

            “His ego can be boosted even higher?” Casey joked.

            “Look, just because you’re some rich new girl doesn’t mean you can just waltz in here and make fun of Tamaki,” an angry voice spat in her direction.

            Casey looked to see one of the girls from that morning, Hima’s friend with brown hair and hazel eyes, glaring at her.

            “I’m sorry you feel that I think that way, I can assure you I don’t. However, I didn’t come here to be hit on by a narcissistic, albeit attractive, guy who wants to know ‘everything’ about me yet won’t even be himself.”

            “Then why are you here?!”

            Casey stared at the girl incredulously for a moment, not exactly sure whether or not she wanted to point out to the girl what she had just implied about herself. She just mentally shook her head and answered calmly, “I came for the piano.”

            “What,” pretty much everyone in the room, save Tamaki, exclaimed.

            She smiled to herself, laughing at the entire situation. “I was here this morning and the room was empty save for the furniture and the piano. Since this _is_ a music room, I decided to play for a while. And since it was abandoned this morning I figured it would be abandoned this afternoon so I came to play it. Although, obviously, it’s not empty and now I’m just extremely confused.”

            “So you play piano?”

            Everyone’s eyes zoomed back to Tamaki as the blonde boy rested against the back of the chair, acting like nothing happened. The Twins rolled their eyes, Honey cheered, Kyoya sighed, and Mori simply looked done with everyone. The girls, however, nearly swooned as Tamaki reinstated his “princely” act and again questioned Casey.

            “Yes, I play piano. I’ve been playing as long as I can remember and, like I said, I only came here because of the piano. However, since the room really isn’t a music room, I believe it would be best for me to take my leave now.”

            She stood and went to collect her things as everyone else started walking away, back to business as usual. Casey turned and bowed to the three girls across from her, wanting to show them that she felt no ill towards them whether or not they liked her. Smiling dismissively at Tamaki, she turned to walk out when a small voice called out to her.

            “Casey-chan, won’t you play a song for me?”

            Stopping, she turned and found herself trapped by the most innocent, hazel brown eyes she’d ever seen. They belonged to a young boy, though she was unsure as to how young he was because he wore an Ouran Academy uniform, with sandy blond hair. He was shadowed by an extremely tall, brooding boy with brown eyes that seemed intensely bored.

            “Um, I’m sorry,” she said, focusing back on Honey, “I never caught your name.”

            “Oh, how silly of me! I’m Honey and this is my cousin, Mori. We’re both third years here,” the boy chatted away sweetly.

            However, Casey was caught on the fact that he had said they were both third years at the Academy. That meant he was _at least seventeen._ How could anyone that small and innocent be a seventeen year old boy?

            “Hi, Honey and Mori,” Casey responded graciously besides her bewildered thoughts. She smiled down at the boy and tried to remember he was a teenager so that she wouldn’t dumb down her language. “I’d love to play a song for you, however I wouldn’t want to bother everyone so I guess-”

            “Actually, we want to hear you play as well.”

            She looked past Honey and Mori to see the Twins sitting a little ways away at a table with four other girls. However, the boys were leaning over their chairs, obviously eavesdropping. The girls didn’t seem too happy with the fact that the boys were ignoring them, yet they also threw curious glances at Casey, indicating that they also wanted to know if she could play.

            “Miss Talbot, seeing as how the club’s activities have all stopped on your behalf, would you please delight us with a song?”

            She turned to see Kyoya gesturing towards the piano with an evened smile. Casey could tell he was a little irritated that the day wasn’t following whatever plans he had made, but she also knew that he was a smart business man and was easily able to adjust to the demand of his clients.

            At that point, basically everyone in the club had stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Casey, so she felt like her only option was to oblige while she still had some dignity.

            She smiled and nodded her head. “Well how could I say ‘no’ to such a courteous request?”

            Calmly walking over to the piano, Casey was completely aware of all the eyes focused in on her. It didn’t make her nervous in the slightest, she was extremely confident in her abilities. Yet, there was something about being in a host cub in a high school academy in Japan surrounded by people dying to hear her play a song on the piano that just seemed strangely humorous.

            Seating herself with all the grace she could muster, she brushed her hair back out of her face and lifted her fingers to the keys, not actually deciding on a song to play. She simply improvised something, basic minor arpeggios played softly with some dancing notes played in the higher octaves, a slight crescendo here leading to a dissonant chord played in forte. And then a decrescendo, ending in a major resolve. Simple, yet one of her favorite things to do.

            She finished to the sound of silence. Looking around, everyone seemed to share similar expressions of bewilderment.

            And then they were clapping.

            “Encore, encore,” she heard the Twins yelling above the noise.

            “That was so pretty, Casey-chan,” Honey exclaimed, bouncing happily on Mori’s shoulders. The taller boy smiled slightly and nodded in agreement with his cousin.

            “Wow Casey, that was really good.”

            “Yeah, do you think you could teach me how to play?”

            “No, teach me!”

            All the sudden Casey and the piano were both surrounded by most of the female clients in the room. All of them were jumping up and down and clapping and telling her how much they loved her music and asking her to play again. As she was trying to calm them down she caught a glance at the clock and realized it was about time for her to leave.

            “I’m sorry, but I must be off now. Thank you for your kind reception though, it was a pleasure playing for you all,” she bowed as she stood from the bench.

            The girls all pouted but quickly bid their farewells to her and made their ways back to their seats to enjoy the remainder of their time with the hosts.

            Casey went to grab her bag and started walking out.

            “Wait-”

            “Casey, where are you going?”

            Looking over her shoulder, she saw the Twins jumping up from their seats to catch her before she walked out.

            “I have to get home, or back to where I’m staying now.” She thought for a moment. “I’m also supposed to pick up my school uniform, which I’d completely forgotten about until now, so I really need to be off.”

            “But the club isn’t over yet, we still have lots of time,” the one with the deeper voice on the right stated.

            “Yeah, you should stay and hang out, everyone likes you,” the twin on the left said.

            “Thank you for the invitation, but I really must leave now. Ranke didn’t know I was planning on staying after for a while and I don’t want him to be worried about me. I had a good time today, though, thank you for showing me around.” She smiled. “Goodbye Hikaru, goodbye Kaoru.”

            With that, she turned and walked out the door.

            After a few moments of staring at the closed door, Hikaru said, “Hey Kaoru?”

            “Yeah, I saw it.”

            “Saw what,” Honey’s voice behind them asked.

            “She looked at us individually when she said goodbye.”

            “And she called us by our right names.”

* * *

 

             “Did you have a good first day? Did you make any friends? How was the tour and the chairman? I hear he’s a charming man.”

            Ranke had been firing off the questions ever since he’d gotten home and Casey couldn’t get a word in between them.

            “Ranke,” she finally yelled, laughing as the man jumped. “Please breathe, I promise I will tell you every little detail of the day, just please sit down and take a deep breath.”

            He practically fell into his spot at the table as Casey began serving him dinner and tea. She meant what she said and detailed the entire day starting with the moment she had walked out the door. He laughed when she told him about the chairman and smiled when she talked about her classes. She noticed his eyes had widened a bit when she mentioned anyone from the host club, but she saved her questions about that until the end. She made sure to leave out her time spent at the host club until after she’d asked him about the boys though.

            “Well, it sounds like you’ve had an exciting day, now if you don’t mind I think it’s time for me to go to bed, goodnight!”

            “Wait, Ranke, I have a few questions for you,” Casey called, but the man pretended that he couldn’t hear her and left the room.

            Casey sat back for a moment and then started clearing the table. To be honest, she was slightly irritated at the fact that her host seemed completely incapable of cooking, cleaning, or basically any form of domestic work, but she didn’t mind too much. She chalked it up to be a part of the experience.

            Danny sat by her as she rinsed the dishes off in the sink, staring up at her with his mismatched eyes. Occasionally she would look down at him and smile which would receive a wag of his tail. When she finished, he stood and pawed her jeans, turning around in a circle.

            “Do you have to go potty,” she asked him, laughing.

            He jumped and ran towards the door. She grabbed his leash from the end of the kitchen counter and hooked it around the loop in his collar. Opening the door, Danny practically dragged her outside, barely allowing her to reach back and close the door.

            Once outside, she walked him down the cement walkway towards the stairs. The Fujioka family lived on the second story of a relatively normal looking apartment complex that didn’t really have much of a grassy area for dogs, but luckily there was a park just a few blocks down the street that Ranke had pointed out to Casey the night she got there. She didn’t mind the walk and it was good for Danny Boy to get the extra walking in, considering he was trapped in that small apartment most of the day. She felt bad about that, but there wasn’t really anything she could do about it.

            She wasn’t paying much attention to her dog as she was lost in her thoughts, so she wasn’t aware of him eyeing a stray cat across the street until he started trying to chase after it. He stepped out onto the road and tried to pull Casey, now completely aware of the situation, after him. Just as she yanked him back, a car zoomed past, going at least ten miles over the speed limit.

            “See, Danny, that’s why we don’t try to cross the street so suddenly,” she chastised him. He looked up at her with sad eyes and she sighed, rubbing his ears before continuing to walk towards the park. “What am I going to do with you, boy?”

            She turned one more corner and then the park was in sight. It wasn’t very large, in all honesty it was just a small grassy plot with a few street lamps and two benches. Nothing really special, but it served its purpose for the American girl and her dog. Casey sat down at a bench and took her phone out, scrolling through Facebook to see what her friends were up to back in the States. She smiled and laughed at some of the statuses, noting the daily occurrences of this person and that. Danny walked around the area, she had extended his leash a bit so that he could move while she looked on her phone. After a few minutes she moved on to Tumblr and had the chance to reblog a few pictures and text posts before an unfamiliar number started calling her.

            Casey stared at her phone for a second, utterly stupefied before answering cautiously. “Hello?”

            “Ms. Talbot, how are you?”

            Her confusion set in even more. “Kyoya? How did you get this number? How are you calling me? Aren’t there technically international charges?”

            He laughed. It was forced and artificial, but she knew he was just trying to be polite. She’d been around him and his family for a few years, she knew how they worked. “You needn’t worry about charges, and your number is in your school file. Anyway-”

            “How did you get my school file?”

            She could feel his irritation through the phone, but he seemingly laughed again and answered, “I take it upon myself to research potential business partners to the best of my ability before proposing negotiations. Don’t worry, I didn’t snoop through any personal information, I only searched for your contact number.”

            Casey squirmed on the bench a bit, tightening her grip on the phone. Danny noticed her change in mood and went to sit at her feet, resting his head on her knees. She patted him as she said, “I don’t really appreciate the invasion of privacy, Kyoya. If you needed to speak with me, I’m sure you could have waited until tomorrow at school. And what do you mean ‘potential business partners’?”

            “My sincerest apologies, Ms. Talbot-”

            “Casey,” she interrupted. It was very rare that she became so short, but she was tired and not in the mood to wear her permanent smile at the moment. Looking into her personal files was something people from tabloids would do and she had a certain aversion to members of the press, they always seemed to find the one thing they needed to ruin someone.

            There was a pause before he continued. “My sincerest apologies, _Casey_ , I meant no disrespect. I only wished to invite you back to the host club.”

            She forgot her frustration momentarily and laughed. “You want me to be one of your clients?”

            “On the contrary, I’d like to employ you.”

            The laughter stopped and she pulled the phone away from her head, staring at it for a moment before resting it against her ear again and asking, “You want me to be a _host?_ ”

            This time he laughed, and it sounded quite genuine, not harsh and practiced like the previous one. “No, no, no, I’d never ask something so distasteful of you. No, today after you left I received a large amount of comments indicating that our clients would love to hear your piano playing more often.”

            “Oh.” Casey sat back on the bench, stunned at the fact that playing one song had impacted those girls that much. “Well, alright, how often would you like me to play at the club?”

            “Every day until you return to America.”

            “Kyoya!” Shooting straight off the bench and startling Danny, Casey started pacing while trying to process the situation. “You want me to play piano every day after school at your host club because a few of your clients liked my playing?”

            “Yes, that’s basically the gist of things. You sound surprised.”

            “Surprised is a bit mild, how about completely flabbergasted! It’s absolutely ridiculous, I’ve played once and then all of the sudden you want me to be your club musician? No writer could come up with a more clichéd plotline.”

            “Well, clichéd or not, my clients want something and as a man who cares deeply about his clients’ wishes, I’d like to make them happy any way I can. At the moment, your talents seem to pacify their needs, and I’d like to continue pleasing them. Will you accept my offer?”

            Casey stopped moving and crossed her arms. Danny’s leash was looped around her wrist but he had enough lead to just sit and watch as she moved back and forth. She looked at him and he cocked his head to the side, wagging his tail.

            After thinking for a moment, she smiled. “Why, Mr. Ootori, you have yet to actually make your offer. What exactly would I receive in turn for my services?”

            “Well, I’m sure that while you stay in Japan a little spending money would be nice, am I correct?”

            “There’s no need to butter me up, Kyoya, just tell me what your offer is.”

            “Ha, you’re just as sharp as your father.”

            “Not really, I just happened to pick a few things up from listening to my father discuss business, just as you have from your father.”

            “Alright then, how about one hundred yen per day?”

            “Kyoya, that’s almost insulting. One hundred yen translates to about eighty-five cents in America. I’m a girl, not an idiot,” she teased. To be honest, she would have done the entire thing for free, but being the daughter of a lawyer had taught her a few things. One important lesson she’d learned: let the other person come to her. She already knew what she did and did not need, but she wouldn’t let on any details to the other person so that they would be sure to give her their best offer. Now, she was pretty positive that Kyoya would be aware of this tactic, being a refined business man himself, but it was still fun to mess with him and see how he’d react.

            He of course had expected nothing less from her.

            “Of course, I hope I didn’t offend.”

            “You could never offend me, Kyoya, our friendship hardly permits such a thing,” she laughed. It was fun dancing around with him like this, both of them knew the other completely understood what was going on. They were both extremely intelligent and almost evenly matched in wit making the conversation both frustrating and enjoyable for each party.

            “How about three hundred yen? It’s not much better, but it would certainly add up and give you plenty of spending money.”

            “How about seven-fifty?”

            “Ms. Tal-Casey, that number’s a bit out of my price range,” she heard him choke. “I can go up to about four hundred, a considerable amount of money. It may not equal a large amount in your country, but that is quite a lot here.”

            “I suppose you’re right, I’ll go down to six hundred then,” Casey mused. They both knew what the endgame number would be, it was all about getting there.

            “Five hundred, and I’m afraid that’s my final offer,” Kyoya sighed.

            She chuckled. “Well, if that’s the best you can do, I suppose I can accept that.”

            “Excellent, so we will pay you five hundred yen a day to perform during all club activities. It seems everything is in order, so good-”

            “I assume by ‘club activities’ you mean regular club hours? Or are there extra activities you do besides the afterschool scheduling?”

            He paused again, probably grimacing that she had caught on to that little catch. But he continued speaking, charm infused into every syllable he spoke. “Yes, we do have extra activities outside of the ones we do at school, some take place on our days off. Though I’m not sure how adept at piano you would be without a piano on sight.”

            “Well luckily for you, I brought my violin. I do believe you’ve attended a recital or two at the bequest of my father, yes?”

            “I seem to recall having seen you play once or twice, so you’d be willing to do so at gatherings outside of the normal scheduling?”

            “Yes, for an extra down payment that can be decided on depending on the setting and duration. I trust that should be everything, unless you had something else you wished to discuss?”

            “No, I think that settles the case. You are then aware of the terms of your employment?”

            Casey laughed. “I absolutely am, so long as you are.”

            “Of course, madam. Good evening then. And, if I may, I probably would have been able to do seven-fifty.”

            “I would have settled for one hundred. Good night, Kyoya.”

            She hung up the phone and put it in her pocket. She stood there for a moment, the cool night air starting to give her a chill while the moon washed her with a pale, blue light. Danny stood and walked over to her, nudging her as an indication that he was ready to go home. She looked down and smiled at him before shortening his leash and walking back in the direction of the apartments.

            Along the way, she considered the events of the day. It seemed like ten years ago that she had just set foot on Ouran Academy’s campus, and the next day she would return as an employee of one of its clubs. It seemed strange that so much could happen in such a short amount of time, would it be like that every day she stayed in Japan? It wasn’t like that back at her home, most of the time she couldn’t wait for one day to be over and for the next to begin because barely anything exciting happened.

            At her house, there was almost a routine: wake up, eat breakfast while listening to her parents argue, go to school and sit with the same people she’d grown up with because they’d all gone to the same preparatory schools, go home, do homework or practice until her parents got home, eat dinner while her parents argued, go to bed while listening to her parents argue, sleep and repeat. Such a monotonous lifestyle. Quite frankly, she hated it. She knew most of the time her parents fought because of her. They would never admit it, but she knew.

            She knew…

            Casey shook her head, focusing back on the walk before her. She was in Japan, she’d met so many people at school who liked her, she got a job, her dog and best friend was with her, and her host was a wonderfully kind person. For the next few months she didn’t have to worry about her parents’ fighting or her oppressed dreams or her drearily routine life. For the next few months she had the opportunity to be a normal teenage girl without any worries.

           So she smiled and continued walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took me forever to update this! I've been really meaning to, but between work and school, it's literally been HELL trying to write. And you can probably tell that from the severe lack of quality with this chapter. I'm not really happy with it, but I couldn't think of a better way to present the plot and character interactions so I decided to go ahead and post it anyway and just keep moving forward with the thought that at least I can't write any worse. I actually commented on the writing in this chapter when Casey is talking to Kyoya on the phone. Try to find it, it's pretty easy to see that I wasn't happy with myself. Anyways, just know that I haven't given up on this story or this OC (I'm pretty attached to her) and that though they may be far few in between, I will keep posting chapters. So leave comments and kudos if you like the story so far, those are what really motivate me to continue writing, and I will see you guys on the next update!

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the end of that! I actually already have the second chapter finished so I'll post that on time next week after editing and from then on I'll have to write and post whenever I can. But I hope you enjoyed this and feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you thought! Thanks!


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